Filner Makes One Last Appearance at Point Loma Dems’ Meeting

In his last week as mayor, Bob Filner attended the Pt Loma Dem Club pot-luck, seen here with the Widder Curry. (Other photos by Judi Curry)

By Judi Curry

Sunday August 25 – was the annual pot-luck for the Pt. Loma Democratic Club.

When my husband and I were members years ago we never missed this meeting because people brought food, desserts and good will to the meeting. Today’s meeting was different in some respects – the same in others. The food was still there (in fact I tried a new recipe for lemon bars and when it was time for dessert they were all gone before I ever tasted one.) The salads were good; the camaraderie was nice, and there was an excitement in the air that permeated the atmosphere.

Our progressive mayor, Bob Filner, had resigned from office just 72 hours before this meeting. They was a lot of talk about who would take his place and maybe carry on his ideas for San Diego. The consensus was that there is probably no one that is willing to stand up to Big Business and, for the most part, we will be returning to the “Good Old Boys” method of governing. What a shame, because Filner, in spite of his foibles, had many good ideas and was set to put them in use.

In talking about the Mayor, most of us were very surprised to see him attending the meeting. In a way it was very sad and was bitter-sweet, because we were all aware of what “could have been” if things had worked out differently. We will never know what he would have accomplished if he had stayed in office longer. We can only guess what the new mayor, whomever that may be, will target as his/her goals for San Diego.

It was nice to see Rich Grosch at the meeting. He is the San Diego Community College President and has been for many years. He and I worked hard on the Airport problems of years ago. Unfortunately, we did not resolve anything, and the airport is still there, bigger than ever.

A featured speaker at the meeting was Marty Block – the California State Senator now representing Pt. Loma, Ocean Beach and the 39th District of San Diego. Perhaps the most important thing – among other things he said – was when it comes to electing a new Mayor that we should not fight one another in our party. We need to unite and be careful that we do not allow others in the party to end up with a split vote, thus allowing a member from another party to win the election. We should try to keep Filner’s progressive agenda at the forefront and make sure we are all on the same page.

He explained that most bills are introduced to committees in January and February. They go through a rigorous examination, and are passed from one committee to another in the party of the originator. If the bill passes those committees, it is then sent to the opposing party committee and if liked then comes up for a vote. It is interesting to note that Marty sent 25 bills to committee last year and ALL 25 bills ended up being signed by the governor. He also said that it will be easier to pass bills since a 2/3 majority is no longer needed but a simple majority will be allowed.

He is, justifiably proud of two of his bills that passed both houses. One allows a spouse or significant other of a military member on active duty, to be allowed to practice their trade that they are licensed for in another State. For example, a nurse in Iowa will be able to practice in California, and the two years it would normally take for the procedure to be accomplished will be waved.

The second bill that passed has to do with infants being born and checked for cardiology deficiencies at birth. The procedure is a simple one – putting a monitor or a finger and a toe – and the results will indicate if there might be a problem with the heart. The entire procedure costs $3 and is not a law. And, after only 9 days of it being enacted it saved the life of a newborn baby.

Sarah Boot – candidate for District 2.

We were then introduced to Sarah Boot who will be running against Lorie Zaph for the District 2 City Council seat. She was a federal prosecutor that had to quit her job in order to run for office. She has prosecuted violet criminals; slave trade pimps; private businesses; and is an advocate for women’s rights. She shares the progressive feelings of our former mayor; is a “green” person; and feels that we need to do more to protect our beaches and oceans. She says she is a strong advocate for communities and residents. She is just beginning her campaign and her fund raising is in its infancy. She will need help in gathering enough monies for her campaign. She has a fund raiser scheduled for October 2nd, and we will be hearing more about it soon.

Then our club present, Susan Peinado, introduced Chris Ward, who is the Chief of Staff for Marty Block. He is not yet a candidate for a position, but he would represent District 3 if Todd Gloria, the current City Council President runs for mayor and is elected. He had nice things to say about Marty and is gaining experience by running the San Diego office of Block.

Chris Ward.

Hannah was introduced and she informed everyone of the Democratic Convention to be held at the Pala Indian Reservation October 4-5th. The deadline to make reservations is September 4th, and she said it would be an exciting event.

Brandon McDonald from “Western Service Workers Association” thanked everyone for bringing back to school items for those that his organization works with. It is strictly a volunteer organization; no one is paid, including the doctors, attorney’s, workers, etc. They have over 100 volunteers, and are always looking for more people. If you want more information, called Brandon at 619-238-9763.

Susan closed the meeting by introducing the new officers – as well as the new chair’s of various committees .

There is a lot of hope, a lot of skepticism, a lot of discontent by the members of this group. The uncertainty of what is to come is stressful. Time will tell as to where San Diego is going, led by whom.

In the meantime, I personally want to say I feel greatly let down; a true mensch only comes around a few times in one’s lifetime. I am wondering if a miracle might happen and a second apparition will appear in November, in time for the election.

Related

Judi, thanks as always for a great write up, and photos. Just one small amendment – the lessening of the requirement from 2/3 to a simple majority that Senator Marty Block referred to is with regard to the budget process and Proposition 25 . There are more details in Doug Porter’s earlier post here http://obrag.org/?p=25738
It doesn’t alter the revenue side of the equation, a 2/3 majority is still needed for tax increases.
It has certainly been an interesting last few weeks. We should all pay close attention to, and work hard on, the District 2 race between Sarah Boot and Lorie Zaph regardless of who emerges as front runner for Mayor.

Thanks for the look into an excellent group. I attended their meetings a few times about ten years ago and agree with your commentary. Boot, an impressive candidate for Zapf’s seat attended our Uptown Dem Club meeting last month.

Please, is there any way you can get a copy of the KUSI am news at 7 am today, when Jan Goldsmith was interviewed in front of City Hall–and revealed way too much; so much that they cut the transmission mid sentence and posted a “signal failure”…ahem. He said they had planned strategy to remove Filner since January. he said they had hired a psychologist to help them plan strategy. he said more. Do try to get that video. Thank you!

Good news. As you will see and hear, Goldsmith’s ego was getting the best of him and he was bragging about how smart the Attorneys office can be and how they even brought in a psychologist to help with strategy in January. That is information that supports what Bob said Friday. My thanks for following through. YES!

Hi All, I was interviewed by Channel 10 news today re: this article – and more. Don’t know what will be said, but it is to be aired at 6:00pm. Please note: My neighbor is building a fence and I asked him to leave me about a 6′ trench in case I need it. On the other hand, the Absolut is iced; I cut a fresh lime off the tree, and am ready to go!

The person who has the recording has AT&T Uverse. Everything recorded on AT&T’s Motorola VIP 1200 DVR is encrypted and will only play on a regular TV. It cannot be sent to a computer. It looks like there is no way around this encryption

The only way I can think of is to have the person actually video the TV screen and I am not sure how that will turn out. But I will keep you informed.

I think if play it on your tv and record while doing so w/ DVD-R or VHS recorder that will give you a medium you can use & compress for online purposes. VHS can be turned into digital cheaply if you need to go that route, by a few companies in town.

Channel 10 interviewed Judi Curry on tonight’s news (Tuesday 8/27) because of this photo at the top of the post. Judi emphasized that Filner seemed almost depressed and that despite the beer in his hand, he wasn’t seeming “exuberant” or in a party mood, leaving after about 45 minutes into the party.

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